Wednesday Roundup: Cowburn provides helping hand on all 3 Lions goals, Grover nets 2 of them in 3-1 Senior Night win over GV/Belfast; Lady Lions volleyball gets B-R back with thrilling 5-set win
WELLSVILLE — Their final regular season game doesn’t take place until Friday night, but just a couple of days prior to that, 11 Wellsville Seniors embraced the limelight for one of their very last dances on the pitch inside the Lion’s Den, as the journey towards Sectionals raged onwards come Wednesday night.
After all the departing seniors joined and celebrated with their families (see separate photo gallery here), it was go time. A date with Genesee Valley/Belfast, one of Allegany County’s hottest teams, now stood in their way.
With an exhilarating and intoxicating aura shrouding the playing grounds, it was something that Wellsville wanted to take complete advantage of. They stepped up.
The offense’s genesis was pinpointed directly on Karson Grover and Aiden Cowburn, as the two Lions seniors both had a hand in all three of the team’s goals, including a humongous pair of first half scores to set the tone on Genesee Valley/Belfast. Despite their lead being cut in half in the early bird stages of the last 40 minutes, the Lions never relinquished the advantage, as they sent all of their seniors out in style with a masterful 3-1 victory under the lights.
“They definitely went in tonight with a sense of pride that they deserve to have,” Lions coach Bethany Faulkner said. “They saw opportunities all night long. I’ve been waiting on Karson to capitalize at the top of the 18 all season, and he really succeeded tonight. The overall dynamic was different than the first half. I think we played rather flat in the second half, but we did just enough to maintain and find that last surge to finish the game hard.”
Six minutes off the clock, you could paint as pretty of a picture possible for Wellsville’s (7-4-4) first goal, with Cowburn leading the first big charge into the Genesee Valley/Belfast zone next to the near sideline, as he passed a ball right to the feet of Grover, who landed a bullet on the run to the inside, breaking the ice in the process.
The Lions kept the pressure up with just past 15 minutes removed off the clock, with their next big application of pressure coming from Nick Germain-Tardieu on a run up the far sideline, shaking off one Genesee Valley/Belfast (12-2-1) defender before delivering a pass to Cowburn that was ultimately met with a defensive clear.
Chances were limited to strike for Genesee Valley/Belfast, with a wide open look at the Wellsville net from Evan Turybury being shut down almost immediately after it was met. But despite it, they went on to claim a 13-6 advantage in the shots department at the end of the contest.
As for the Lions, they went on to double their lead following Genesee Valley/Belfast’s next chance to tie the game. It would stem off a direct kick besides the cage adjacent to the far sideline, with Cowburn electing to take the kick. With it, it would not take any redirections nor touch anybody in front of the opposing net. Instead, Cowburn’s kick curled straight in on goal and to the near post’s netting before taking a couple of redirections in the back of the net with under 20 minutes remaining in the frame.
With a 2-0 lead in hand, it was time to play defense. But almost right off the hop, Genesee Valley/Belfast ultimately trimmed the deficit right in half following a Gavin Haggerty goal kick. The possession was forced back, with a strong joust for possession was captured by Ryan Snyder, who ripped a shot right off the mitts of a leaping Haggerty across.
The initial save would wind up creating an available rebound for the visitors to pick up, led by Jordan White, who sent the ball to the front on a cross for a slip-and-sliding Sal Gambino on the nearside.
The 2-1 lead remained intact leading up until the last two minutes in regulation, when a massive piece of insurance was gathered by the Lions. While maintaining discipline on defense, Cowburn dished along one final pass to the middle of the field, where a streaking Grover galloped in on goal from the 30-yard line to knock home the final score of the game right to the near post.
The piece of insurance, helping solidify one heck of a run for all 11 seniors in Wellsville.
“Having 11 Seniors may never happen again,” said Faulkner. “It’s really incredible to have a group of boys that have had this much time to build together and have the wins they’ve had this season. This is very well deserved.”
In goal, Haggerty picked up the big win behind 10 saves, while Zach Thomas made five saves for Genesee Valley/Belfast.
Both teams will put a wrap on their regular season campaigns on Friday, with Wellsville playing host to Bolivar-Richburg in a 4 p.m. contest, while Genesee Valley/Belfast heads back up north for a pit stop to Scio, taking on host Friendship/Scio at 6 p.m.
Fillmore 3, Bolivar-Richburg 0
BOLIVAR — The first half saw plenty of noise erupt for the defending Class D Champions on Wednesday. On the confines of Dunsmore-Latimer Field in Bolivar, Joe Sadler and Isaiah Sisson paved the way for the Eagles with an early advantage they held onto for good, as they coasted past the host Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg with a 3-0 shutout.
Of the three goals for the Eagles (8-4-3), two of them found the back of the net for Sadler, with his first coming in the opening 10 minutes of play before following up later on with 11:57 remaining in the half. Just over three minutes removed from Sadler’s second marker, Sisson then applied damage of his own with 8:12 left to extend their lead to a trio of goals going into the break.
All three of Fillmore’s goals came unassisted.
As for the last 40 minutes of play, the defense went on to buckle down and finish off a strong performance, led by the likes of Brayden Hennard in between the posts, as he advanced forward to make all five saves in goal to preserve the shutout in bounce back fashion.
Fillmore went on to outshoot Bolivar-Richburg by an 11-5 count. In goal for the Wolverines (3-11-1), Ayden Music made eight saves.
Both teams will close out their regular seasons Friday night on the road, with the Eagles paying a 7 p.m. visit to Cuba-Rushford, while the Wolverines enter the Lion’s Den in Wellsville for battle starting at 4 p.m.
Houghton Academy 6, Cuba-Rushford 1
HOUGHTON — After succumbing to Bolivar-Richburg and Keshequa in back-to-back overtime battles last week, the Houghton Academy Panthers were on the mend and in the search for a big way to finish off their regular season in style.
Looking to make their ascension through a packed, tightly-knit Class D crowd for Sectionals, the return back home on Wednesday was nothing short of extraordinary, as they made sure the end of their regular season received a strong note.
Following a competitive battle for possession in a first half that saw the Panthers and visiting Cuba-Rushford draw towards a 1-1 deadlock, the hosts in blue and white broke that right away in the last 40 minute session behind a relentless attack that saw them score the next five goals in unanswered fashion to turn the game upside down, as they cruised their way towards victory by a 6-1 count over the visiting Rebels.
It was scoreless across much of the first half, leading into a last 10 minute period that saw the score even back up once again with the first marker for each team coming to close out the stanza. Houghton Academy was the first to strike behind the efforts of David Jatta, who tucked away his marker on a solo rush to the Cuba-Rushford net, to break the ice. Six minutes later, the Rebels (7-7-1) responded with Robert Childs scoring in similar fashion himself, tying the bout at one.
The deadlock would remain frozen in place until the Panthers kicked their offense into high gear to start the second half, reclaiming the lead in the first 10 minutes of play off the first of five straight markers against Cuba-Rushford, with Jatta sending a pass along to Josh Davidson for the finish just eight minutes removed from the clock for a 2-1 lead.
Jatta would follow with his second and third markers of the game to extend Houghton Academy’s lead to three before Huy Ho and Jae Masiza rounded off the scoring with one goal each, with Masiza netting two assists along the way.
All six goals were accounted for off 14 total shots for the Panthers, going on to claim a narrow 14-11 shot advantage over the Rebels in the process. In net, Jerry Pham scored the win behind 10 saves.
Coleman Searle made eight saves for Cuba-Rushford, who will head home to close out their regular season on Friday with a 7 p.m. visit from Fillmore.
Houghton Academy’s regular season is now complete, as they now await what the future ahead holds for Sectionals after finishing with a record of 10-5 overall.
Andover/Whitesville 10, Friendship/Scio 1
SCIO — Shortly following the game’s ice-breaking goal from host Friendship/Scio, Andover/Whitesville stomped down on the accelerator and the offense went straight to work behind the guidance of Colton Calladine and Brody Vance, as the two players combined to record eight of the team’s 10 goals to roll towards what was a 10-1 win on the road in Scio, Wednesday night.
Calladine and Vance led the way for Andover/Whitesville’s offense with four goals each, as both scorers completed their hat trick in the second half of play. Elden Terhune and Ethan Warriner each recorded a second half marker to help round off the scoring.
Those goals came in consecutive fashion following Friendship/Scio’s (0-15) opening score within the first 10 minutes of play, as Conner Blouvet gave the hosts in black and gold the early 1-0 lead at the 30:06 mark.
The 10 goals for Andover/Whitesville stemmed off a 17-shot output on the attack, as they outshot Friendship/Scio by a 17-6 count. In net, Skylar Orpet set aside five of those shots to record the win for the visitors, while Deacon Brown made seven saves for the hosts.
Friendship/Scio will close out their regular season Friday night right back in Scio, hosting Genesee Valley/Belfast at 6 p.m.
As for Andover/Whitesville, they officially wrap up regular season play, as they now await Sectional seeding after finishing with a record of 8-6-2 overall.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Wellsville 3, Bolivar-Richburg 2
WELLSVILLE — It was a five-set decision the first time around near the beginning of the season for both Bolivar-Richburg and Wellsville. When they met for the final time in the Lion’s Den on Wednesday, it was to no surprise that the two Allegany County heavyweights would wind up charting another crash course towards the very end of it all once again.
This time around, the Lady Lions garnered the early advantage and pushed Bolivar-Richburg to the brink. But the Lady Wolverines displayed a great deal of resiliency to stay alive, reversing the momentum in their favor to set up shop for a thrilling finish in the fifth and final set. After plenty of back-and-forth exchanges were made, crunch time had settled in.
In the end, despite Bolivar-Richburg’s late push to turn the tide, Wellsville would ultimately stand tall, as they tilted the momentum one last time to exact their revenge off a five-set loss to the Lady Wolverines nearly a month ago with a five-set win over their own on their home court, as they laid claim on a 25-16, 25-21, 21-25, 20-25, 15-10 victory in front of a packed Lion’s Den crowd.
“We went in with momentum and took the first two sets, but I told the girls that there is no way Bolivar-Richburg was going down easily in three. I told the girls they need all their momentum and energy,” said Lady Lions coach Shannon Steiner. “By set five, I think the girls knew they wanted this more, knowing they have not lost a game in the league yet. They went full force towards the end and kept going, and it turned out to be a great win for us as a team.”
The Lady Lions (9-4) saw a humongous night from Lindsay Stuck come into complete fruition, as she led the offense behind team-highs in kills with 15, and digs with 14, pairing them with a single ace from the service line. Natalie Adams pitched in with 10 more digs on defense along with nine kills and five aces.
In addition for the hosts, Makenna Dunbar chipped in nine digs, eight kills, six aces and four blocks at the net, while the team’s setter Lexi Irish handed out 40 assists paired with nine digs and four more aces.
Bolivar-Richburg (9-3) was powered by an electric performance from Carmen Crowley, as she stranded together 25 game-high kills to go with 18 digs, 14 blocks and five aces. Jayna Thomas pitched in 10 more digs on defense to go with eight kills and a pair of aces. Joey Danaher had eight digs, six kills and three aces, while Willow Worth (11 digs) handed out 32 helpers at the net.
The Lady Wolverines are right back on the road tonight with a 6 p.m. visit below the border at Oswayo Valley.
As for the Lady Lions, they now halt play until after the weekend, when they get set to host Arkport-Canaseraga in a 6:30 p.m. first serve on Monday.
Cuba-Rushford 3, Genesee Valley/Belfast 0
BELMONT — Right from the start, the Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford set the tone with a strong first set performance led by the offensive efforts of Lilah Stroud and Raegan Poore, as they took advantage of all the opportunities they were presented with to cement a straight-set win at Genesee Valley/Belfast on Wednesday by a 25-9, 25-15, 25-12 count on Wednesday.
Charging the efforts on the attack for the Lady Rebels (9-5) was Stroud, who navigated to the front of the pack behind her nine team-high kills. Poore was right behind, as she followed up with seven of her own, while Kendall Tompkins handed out a whopping 25 assists to set the offense up for great success, chipping in four aces and a pair of kills along the way.
Genesee Valley/Belfast (2-11) was led by Paizlee Tilton, who recorded five kills and three digs. Enasjah Koontz-Gibbs contributed four digs and three kills, while setter Emalee Carman had 11 assists to go with a pair of kills.
“I know the scores don’t really show it, but I think we played some of our better volleyball that we have this year,” GV/Belfast coach Darren Bradt said. “Although our hitters aren’t as powerful as Cuba-Rushford’s, I think we did a pretty good job attacking the ball and not just sitting back on our heels.”
Both teams are back on the floor Friday night in a pair of 7:30 p.m. battles, with Cuba-Rushford heading back home to host Andover/Whitesville, while Genesee Valley/Belfast stays put to welcome in a visit from Fillmore.
Fillmore 3, Andover/Whitesville 0
FILLMORE — Houghton Academy was chasing Fillmore down for top honors in the County, but the Lady Eagles were able to get the one big victory to stay one giant footstep ahead of the Lady Panthers to officially claim the Division II League Championship on their home court Wednesday night, as they rolled past Andover/Whitesville with a 25-12, 25-11, 25-13 victory.
Aiding the offensive efforts for the Lady Eagles (10-6) was Mya Keeler, who finished with three kills. Annalisa Bialek chipped in with three aces and two kills, while setter Eleanor Reitnour handed out 10 big assists to set up shop for the attack at the front of the net.
Statistics for Andover/Whitesville (0-13) were not made available to report upon publication.
Both teams are back in action Friday night in a pair of 7:30 p.m. contests, with the Lady Eagles heading over the road to Genesee Valley/Belfast, while Andover/Whitesville hops on the bus for a trip to Cuba-Rushford.
Houghton Academy 3, Hinsdale 0
HOUGHTON — The Houghton Academy Lady Panthers kept their winning ways intact on Wednesday, as they provided a strong inception to their game against visiting Hinsdale and never looked back to deliver a straight-set victory by a 25-9, 25-12, 25-15 count.
The Lady Panthers (9-5) saw Julia Winkens take the lead of the offense behind her nine team-high kills, pairing them with a denial at the net. Adding more help was Jaqi Dover, who had five more kills to add in along with four aces and four digs.
Statistics for Hinsdale (3-10) were not made available to report upon publication. The Lady Bobcats are back on the road Monday night for a 7:30 p.m. visit to Bolivar-Richburg.
Before the Lady Bobcats have their turn, Houghton Academy will head back home and host a 6:30 p.m. contest with the Lady Wolverines coming up on Friday.
